The Second Illusion
by Sariniste
Summary: What really happened when Aizen used Kyouka Suigetsu during the battle in FKT to switch places with Hinamori? Hinamori's POV during chapter 392, under Aizen's illusions. One-shot.


**The Second Illusion**

**A/N:** What really happened when Aizen used Kyouka Suigetsu during the battle in FKT to switch places with Hinamori? Hinamori's POV during chapter 392, under Aizen's illusions. One-shot.

Aizen's actions in this story are illustrated by the expression on his face as he starts the illusion in chapter 377, page 18:

http:/ manga. bleachexile. com/bleach-chapter-377-page-18. html (remove the spaces for the link)

**Characters:** Hinamori, Aizen, Hitsugaya, Kira, Iba.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach.

(Originally posted 3/23/2011.)

She lay there, incapacitated, under Izuru's care, looking up at the battle raging in the sky above her. Izuru had healed her, was guarding her now, his comforting presence nearby. He was a good and dear friend. Yet he seemed to come from so long ago, from a previous life, before this war had torn her current life to shreds.

_He_ was there, fighting. She could feel his incomparably strong reiatsu like a beacon in the sky, and she closed her eyes. He was her enemy now. She had come here to fight him, to stand up for justice and her loyalty to the Gotei 13.

But what did it all matter? The wounds she had sustained might very well be death wounds, she thought. He had assembled an unbelievably strong army, as one might have expected of Captain Aizen. Everything he did was superbly accomplished; he was supremely competent, whatever one might say about his ethics. She knew that the Gotei 13 had no chance against him. This war was doomed from the start. She knew she would die eventually. His army would finish the task that he had begun, and she would die at his or his allies' hands.

She sighed. It was acceptable. There was nothing left in the world for her to live for. Captain Aizen had been the sun, the moon, and the stars to her; with his betrayal, she was just going through the motions of living.

She breathed slowly and deeply. Then her eyes flew open. There was a change in the reiatsu field. He was coming closer. What was he doing? She was nothing to him; why would he be approaching? To kill her? To attack Izuru and Iba?

Then he was there, standing before her in all his glory. A careless wave of his hand, and Izuru and Iba were immobilized. He stood in front of her, looking so different from the kind and caring captain she had always thought she knew. He wore strange white robes with a red sash, completely unlike the familiar captain's haori she always imagined him in. His thick brown hair was swept back from his face, and his glasses were gone. Those huge, beautiful brown eyes were no longer hidden now, and they lingered on her face as he approached.

But his expression— his expression was the most different of all. No longer kindly, it was placid, indifferent. As though someone had taken the gentle man she had once known and replaced him with an emotionless statue.

Then he was close to her, was kneeling down by her side, his large eyes, surprisingly, holding emotion once more.

"Momo." His voice was unchanged; that deep, resonant, absolutely reassuring voice that had comforted her so many times.

"Captain Aizen," she whispered.

"You have taken a grave wound in the battle," he murmured, placing his hand over her torso, where the still-knitting bones burned and ached.

"Have you come to kill me, Captain Aizen?" she asked in her soft voice.

He turned and looked directly at her, that powerful gaze like the sun, burning her again, and her breath caught. She remembered that look, how he had turned it on her during training, when he had exhorted her to become the best she could be.

"No, of course not, Momo," he said, and his voice was still the voice of the man she had admired and loved beyond all others. He brought both hands over her abdomen and she felt powerful healing kidou come forth from them, healing abilities far beyond those of Izuru or anyone else. She sighed as his touch made the pain disappear. It only took a few minutes, and then he had placed one hand behind her back and was gently helping her to sit up.

With the disappearance of the pain, her mental clarity returned. What was he doing? She frowned. "What do you want, Captain Aizen? Why are you healing one of the enemy?"

He looked at her and smiled, the old, kind smile. "Momo. Surely we are not enemies, not after all the time we spent working together?"

She looked directly at him. "You betrayed the Gotei 13. You left us." Unspoken, the words, "You left me," did not leave her lips.

He smiled with amusement now. "I left an antiquated system that had become a travesty of justice. I am working for a higher cause now." His voice was reasonable, persuasive.

She shook her head. She would not listen to his lies. "You tried to kill me."

His fingertips traced the skin between her breasts, where the scar he had left with Kyouka Suigetsu could still be felt. To her shock, it felt erotic as he continued to caress her with a faint smile on his face. She stared at him, eyes wide. "How glad I am that you survived," he murmured.

He reached up, stroked her cheek, cupped her face. To her dismay, she felt the comfort his touch had always brought her, the slow but inevitable easing of her soul's pain. This had always been the magical power of his touch, his presence.

She stiffened and drew back. This must surely be another of his cruel tricks. "Captain Aizen—"

"Momo." His voice was a caress. "Admit it. You didn't really come here to fight. You have no resolve to defeat my Arrancar." He paused, gazed at her with a dark smile. "The real reason you came to this battle, Momo, was that you were hoping to see me, weren't you."

She stared, and then bowed her head. How did he know? How did he always know her inmost heart?

"Shall I tell Yamamoto the truth," he murmured, amused, "that you are really still a traitor in your heart? That you would still follow me if I so commanded it?"

She raised her head and glared. "No. I will not follow you. Kill me if you wish, but I will never follow you. I will never be a traitor."

He laughed. "Really? I think you will, Momo. I think you will serve me in this battle today, just as you have always served me." He straightened, gazing down at her. "Very well. I'll give you thirty minutes to decide if you'd like to come join me. I've healed you; you can make your choice. Fight alongside the corrupt remnants of Soul Society." His lip curled in derision. "Or join me and help me build a new world. I give you free choice." He held out his hand to help her up, but she turned away and refused to take it.

She heard him chuckle. "See you later, Momo." His voice was mocking as he flash-stepped away.

As his reiatsu faded away, she struggled to her feet. She felt light-headed but no longer in pain. She could fight again. Izuru and Iba came running to her, released from the suspension.

"Hinamori!" cried Iba. "You shouldn't be up. Your injuries—"

"Are fine now," said Momo gently. "And I'm needed in this battle." She looked up, far up, to where she felt captain-level reiatsu clashing.

Toshiro was battling another one of those misshapen monsters, another abomination from Aizen's dark alliance with the soulless hollows, the ancient enemy of the shinigami. He was weakening; she could feel it. The creature was pressing him hard, a sneering grin on its foul visage.

Suddenly angry, Momo sprang back into the air, gathering her powers again. She was exhausted, but she could still fight. She would fight to the death to save Shiro-chan. She would fight to the death against Aizen's betrayal.

As she approached Toshiro, she saw that he sensed her and gave her a brief nod of acknowledgment. Carefully eying the monster before her, she opened another kidou net and swung her sword, struck flesh. Dark blood poured from the creature and it bellowed, a mindless cry of beastly rage, as it turned on her. She faced it as it attacked once again, dodged.

But in her focus on the monster in front of her, she had failed to notice another coming up from behind. It slashed her from behind with its blade, and she quailed, dizzy and overwhelmed by pain.

"Are you all right, Momo?" shouted Toshiro, hard pressed by another monster. He glanced at her and began to try to move in her direction.

Sweat poured down her face as she kept on trying to fight. "Damn you," she muttered to the monster in front of her.

Toshiro gave a tremendous thrust with his sword and slashed the monster in front of him, who gave a great, wailing cry, and then began to fall to earth. In a flash, Toshiro was at her side.

"Momo," he called out, reaching his arms out to hold her as she began to fall backwards.

Then with a sudden shock of pain, she looked down to see a sword protruding from between her breasts. She gasped. With slow realization, she saw that it was Toshiro's sword. He had come up behind her and stabbed her through the heart.

She heard his voice as though from far away. "Hinamori?" It sounded incredulous, shocked, horrified.

She sighed and slumped as she felt her life force leaving her. He had come up behind her, was holding her. Her eyes sought his face. "Shiro-chan?" she gasped, choking. "Why…?"

But she realized, as darkness overcame her, that she knew why. Toshiro knew she was a traitor in her heart. He had struck her down for that very reason, killing her so that she could die honorably, fighting on the side of right and justice, before she gave in to her weakness, and went to join Aizen. He had known her susceptibility all along.

And very faintly, as she felt herself slipping away, she heard Aizen laughing. "Thank you, Momo, for your very valuable assistance during this battle. I told you that you would serve me. Thanks to you, I have successfully demoralized four captains and caused them to leave themselves entirely open. _You_ have handed me this victory, Momo."

At the very end, she heard Toshiro scream, a scream of ultimate horror and despair, and she knew it was all over, and that it was all her fault.


End file.
